Page:The religion of Plutarch, a pagan creed of apostolic times; an essay (IA religionofplutar00oakeiala).pdf/220

 Plutarch gives early indication of his point of view. "The philosophy of the Egyptian priests was generally concealed in myths and narratives containing dim hints and suggestions of truth." It was to indicate this "enigmatic" character of their theological wisdom that they erected Sphinxes before their temples; that, too, is the meaning of their inscription on the shrine of Athene-Isis at Sais, "I am all that was, and all that is, and all that shall be, and my veil hath yet no mortal raised." It follows from this that we must on no account attach a literal significance to their narratives. Thus they represent the sun as a newborn child sitting on a lotus flower, but this is an enigma teaching the derivation of the solar heat from moisture. "It is in this way," says he, clearly indicating the twofold object he has in view throughout this work, "it is in this way that you are to hear and accept traditions of the gods, taking their meaning from such as interpret them in a spirit at once pious and philosophic. This spirit of reverent inquiry must be accompanied by a constant observance of the recognized forms of worship, and by a conviction that no religious or other action is more grateful to the gods than the acceptance of true opinions concerning them. This harmonious co-*operation of Piety and Philosophy saves equally from Atheism and its cognate evil, Superstition.

It is in this spirit—the spirit in which every Religion justly claims that it should be approached—that Plutarch gives an account of the Egyptian myth